Waiting for Trivers and Willard: do the rich really favor sons?

American Journal of Physical Anthropology
S Koziel, S J Ulijaszek

Abstract

Parental investment theory has been put forward as a major evolutionary argument explaining male or female biased birth sex ratio, the Trivers-Willard (T-W) hypothesis, predicting that parents living in good circumstances will bias their investment to sons, whereas parents in poor circumstances will bias their investment toward daughters. Tests of the T-W hypothesis on human beings have shown limited evidence for parents appearing to differentiate their investment to sons or daughters according to the reproductive potential of each sex. The present study tests the T-W hypothesis among a large contemporary Polish sample using first birth interval and extent of breastfeeding as measures of parental investment, and economic status and level of parental education as measures of parental condition. The extents to which parental investment and markers of parental condition vary by sex of the child were examined using log-linear analysis. Weak support for the T-W effect is found among families where fathers were best educated, where a greater proportion of first-born boys are breastfed longer than girls, while the opposite trend is observed among families with fathers with lowest levels of education. Although the present study does no...Continue Reading

References

May 1, 1991·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·S J Gaulin, C J Robbins
Sep 1, 1986·The Quarterly Review of Biology·T H Clutton-Brock, G R Iason
Dec 2, 1982·Nature·M J Simpson, A E Simpson
Oct 1, 1996·Social Biology·G C Chacon-Puignau, K Jaffe
May 7, 1998·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·R Mace
Jun 12, 1999·Nature·A Cockburn
Jun 12, 1999·Nature·L E KruukF E Guinness
Jan 1, 1989·American Journal of Primatology·C P Van SchaikH Westland

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Nov 16, 2012·Journal of Biosocial Science·Ralf KaptijnMerril Silverstein
Apr 23, 2004·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Aryeh D SteinDaniel W Sellen
Jul 16, 2004·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Aryeh D SteinL H Lumey
Apr 2, 2005·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Sarah E Johns
Aug 10, 2007·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Douglas Almond, Lena Edlund
Aug 9, 2013·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Katherine Wander, Siobhán M Mattison
May 25, 2010·BMC Public Health·Kathreen E RuckstuhlErin Vinish
Oct 12, 2012·PloS One·Fritha H Milne, Debra S Judge
Nov 24, 2011·Pain Research and Treatment·Lucie A Low, Petra Schweinhardt
Apr 4, 2003·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Cheryl S RosenfeldR Michael Roberts
Feb 1, 2014·Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health·David van BodegomRudi G J Westendorp
Oct 17, 2009·The Journal of Sexual Medicine·Eva Jozifkova, Martin Konvicka
Jan 18, 2008·Reproductive Biomedicine Online·Lee Cronk
Apr 21, 2009·American Journal of Human Biology : the Official Journal of the Human Biology Council·David P Tracer
Nov 20, 2010·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Bertis B Little, Robert M Malina
May 7, 2015·American Journal of Human Biology : the Official Journal of the Human Biology Council·Siobhán M MattisonKatie Hinde
Feb 16, 2011·Reproductive Sciences·Satoshi Kanazawa
Jun 1, 2006·Human Nature : an Interdisciplinary Biosocial Perspective·Ricardo GodoyKarishma Patel
Sep 21, 2004·Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology·G A Schuiling
Jun 14, 2019·American Journal of Human Biology : the Official Journal of the Human Biology Council·Slawomir KozielMichael Hermanussen

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved